hi- right now we have a GE Profile that is a side by side. The reason I am looking at the French door is b/c i want freezer on the bottom so my refrid is longer to accomodate party platters, cakes and such. That being said- the reason i like the french door is truely just for looks. I like the two door look better than the one large door. Also the one large door tends to feel "heavier" for me to open ...
The only draw back i see to the french door is that in some models you can hear the seal opening/closing (ie GE i noticed to be louder than KA and Amana)
FYI my GE has had ice maker issues and i hear other people complaining of that as well.

I am also looking at new fridges and a tech told me that "they" are having trouble with the gaskets on the french door models. Some of them seem to "hit" when opening and it is causing sealing/tearing problems with some of those. He advised me(in fact 2 techs did) to either get an LG or a Whirlpool. I think I am going W/pool cause I am afraid it will be too hard to get LG parts if they are needed.

Though plumbing for it won't be too diffcult, I'm not sure we'll be using the icemaker. If we don't I hope it's easily removable. I'll have to take a look at one of these bottom-freezer units to see where the icemaker sits. The last bottom freezer I remember seeing was my mother's back in the 1960's. Ice was made using tray filled with water from the sink.

Can a French door refrigerator handle larger platters than a top freezer fridge with a single large door? Given that ours will be adjacent to a wall, I want to be sure the door on that side will open wide enough to give full access to the shelves without the door bins getting in the way.

I have never heard of complaint about door seal noises. Because of the units location, I'm not sure that will be a problem for us. Sneaking midnight snacks while doing laundry late will be tempting and low-risk.

We really like our Samsung French Door. The model we got does not have ice thru the door but in the bottom freezer which gives you more ususable space overall. Very quiet and Samsung french doors have won the JD Powers award for customer satisfaction 3 years in a row . Separate cooling systems for refrigerator and freezer as well.

As to door seal gasket problems - from all my research the issue appears limited to LG models only - because of the way they are made compared to the others. LG uses only gaskets on their refrigerator door. Everyone else uses a moveable panel attached to a door that swings shut when closed. take a look and you will notice the difference. I can see why the LG would have gasket issues with their design

My neighbors have a french door fridge and advised us against getting one. They said if you are carrying something large that requires two hands (cake box, platter, big bowl), it is hard to get both fridge doors open. With a single door fridge you can hook the handle with a free pinkie finger and swing it open. With a french door, you have to pinkie open one side, then stand with you butt to keep that side open whilst pinkie opening the other side.

Sorry but what your neighbors told you is garbage. the door on a french door fridge will stay open - no need to hold it open with your butt to open the other side.

Plus - if you are carrying something that big, thats one benefit of the french door - in that you can have a 36" wide shelf to set it on

How wide is the shelf of a top-freezer refrigerator? Isn't that dimension independent of whether there is one door or two?

Who makes Whirlpool's French door fridges? Is it LG or one of the manufacturers that doesn't have issues with the center seal?

We are being given a choice between a "consumer" Whirlpool Gold unit and a (contractor's?) "Inside Advantage" model. The biggest difference appears to be that the Inside Advantage model lacks the wine rack that the Gold model has. I think we can live without that and without the cold water dispenser that neither of them have. The $1,261 price compares favorably with the $1,429 we had been quoted for the top-freezer GE.

Berryberry - having a 36" shelf isn't a "benefit of a french door fridge". My single door fridge has a 36" shelf.

My neighbors were giving me their opinion of their fridge.

Berryberry... I am glad you posted that you are happy with your Samsung. We purchased the Samsung FD and are anxiously awaiting delivery. I DID NOT want ice/water in the door and love the little water spout inside.

I've got the GE Profile bottom freezer and french doors. I've had it for about 18 months now, and I still love it. The french doos are great for narrow areas in front -- which is what I have. Now you can stand at my stove and still open the refrigerator without getting hit in the head. The bottom freezer is really pretty convenient and with the built in slide out shelves organization is easy. I bought mine without an ice maker or water dispenser ... they do make them, and you can save a few hundred bucks if you forgo them. My two favorite features; the door alarm (teenagers are bad at closing anything) and the split shelves in the refrigerator. Many times it's been nice to be able to put something very tall in the fridge, without having to take everything apart.

Here is a link that might be useful: GE Profile Energy Star® 22.2 Cu. Ft. Bottom-Freezer Refrigerator

Ice makers seem to be standard on the 25 cubic foot models.

I still don't understand why GE refrigerators are priced higher than what appear to be equivalent Whirlpool models. Is GE just greedy? Are GE refrigerators typically sold at a deep discount? Or is there something functional about GE refrigerators that allows them to command a higher price?

chipshot: the prices at the GE website are suggested retail ... I've never actually seen those prices anywhere in real life. When I bought my refrig. I got an instant $150 rebate from the appliance dealer, and another $150 from GE. Brought my cost down to under $1000 incl. tax, delivery and setup. Make sure to ask about rebates, often independent appliance dealers will have non-advertised rebates that make them competitive w/the big box stores.

Thanks, LM. What size is your refrigerator? I am fairly happy with the $1,261 we were quoted for a "$1,499" 24.8 cubic foot Whirlpool. Under $1,000 would be great for a refrigerator that size, so I'll keep a sharp ear out for rebates and reductions between now and the delivery date.

We've already decided to go with a Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer pair, so going with a Whirlpool refrigerator will make it an all-Whirlpool laundry room.

Ok - some followups:

Lightlystarched - As someone who owns a French Door, I was clearing up your neighbors misconception so others here would not be mislead

Vegas t - Hopefully you will really like it as we do. Like you - we did not want ice / water thru the door. had that on our old side by side - it broke twice and took up lots of freezer room. I love the little water dispenser inside - and the filter system is really nice. Plus the ice cube maker is very functional in the bottom freezer and doesn't take up lots of space like an in door unit does.

Lm20021 - yes the french doors are very nice and take up lote less room when open - much better IMO than having a single huge door on a top-freezer model

chipshot - yes - icemakers may be standard on most 25 cu ft models - but some are thru the door, some are in the bottom freezer. That does make a difference. I attached a link to the 25.8 cu ft Samsung french door with icemaker / water dispenser BUT not thru the door below so you can see what I mean

Here is a link that might be useful: 25.8 cu ft Samsung

My wife liked GE's freezer bins, while I preferred Whirlpool's baskets. Neither of us saw any any value in the water dispenser (nor through the door ice or water). We both questioned the reliability of the center seal and have our fingers crossed that it proves reliable - along with all the other appliances we purchase.

Anyone having problems with the gaskets ripping in their GE french-door refrigerator please email me at backhome@fuse.net. GE is ignoring me and the issue is serious - you have to replace the entire doors and cannot just replace the gasket. I want to find other people with the same problem. Thanks.

has any one purchased the whirlpool refrigerator model # G15Fsaxva?
any problems with it? we are looking for a new one